Running Linux, 5th Edition - Matthias Kalle Dalheimer [62]
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[*] If the middle mouse button does not work for you, or you have a two-button mouse, please see "Configuring X.org" in Chapter 16 for how to set up your mouse.
[*] There is a subtle difference between the Space key and the PgDn key: the PgDn key will always take you to the next page, while the Space key will first take you to the bottom of the current page if the window is too small to display the whole page on the screen at once. A second press of the Space key will then take you to the next page.
The GNOME Desktop Environment
The GNOME desktop environment, like KDE, is a complete desktop suite, from the desktop background up to a set of applications. As with KDE, GNOME can run any X application, and both KDE and GNOME rely on standards set by the Freedesktop.org group. In fact, the distinction between the two desktops is, in many ways, of interest more to developers choosing toolkits than to users, who in most cases mix and match applications without having to worry about the underpinnings.
The primary goals of the GNOME project are simplicity and ease of use. Applications must comply with extensive human interface guidelines to become part of the official GNOME desktop. Because GNOME makes an excellent platform for development in C, C++, Python, Java, and C#, unofficial and third-party applications are numerous. In some cases (notably the XML system), GNOME libraries appear in command-line and server-based applications.
Of course, for our purposes, the interesting parts are the core desktop and its associated applications. In the following sections, we go over the GNOME look and feel, talk a little bit about the customization options it offers to you, and then give a quick tour of major applications, such as Evolution and Nautilus.
Most Linux distributions include GNOME, but if you haven't installed it yourself, or if you want a newer version, you can visit http://gnome.org or your distribution's web page for downloads.
Core Desktop Interface
The GNOME desktop is designed to be familiar to anyone who has used a computer before. Although you can change the settings in almost any way, a typical installation will have a desktop with icons on it and a panel along the top and bottom. The panels are among the most important GNOME tools because they are so versatile and they allow a wide range of interactions with your system. Panels can exist along one edge of your screen, like the Windows control panel; along a portion of it, like the Macintosh Dock, and more. They can contain buttons to launch applications and small applications called applets such as clocks, system monitors, and even tiny games.
Basic GNOME tasks
Here is a quick explanation of how to perform the most common tasks . Once you get the hang of these, you can probably guess how to do anything else.
Open or activate an item in the panel
Click once with the left button.
Start a program
Buttons known as launchers cause a program to open when left-clicked; GNOME desktops typically have such buttons both in panels and on the desktop. Furthermore, when you click on a file, an appropriate program opens that file, as described shortly.
Move items around on the desktop
Click and drag with the left mouse button.
Move items in the panel
Clicking and dragging with the left mouse button works for launchers, but for some applets, the left mouse button is used to control the applet. In that case, middle-click and drag. This is also the case for moving windows by their borders—left-click will expand the window, but middle-click lets you move it.
Organize items on the desktop
Right-click the desktop background and select Clean Up by Name. Items will be arranged in alphabetical order, with two exceptions: the first